New Computer Spec

montana · 6 Aug 2006 at 22:14

Hi, Im building a new computer soon just wanted your opinions and tell me if i can improve on any of these components, or go about it a tottaly different way: heres the spec so far any help would be much appreciated:

PowerColor X1800GTO 256mb GDDR3 256bit AVIVO Dual DVI PCI-E £111.69

Western Digital WD2500KS Caviar SE 250GB 7200RPM SATA2/300 16MB Cache- OEM £45.95

AMD Athlon 64 (ADA4200BVBOX) X2 4200+ socket 939 Dual Core 2.2ghz 512kb and 512kb Cache £107.11

LG GSA-H10NBAL 16x16DVD±RW 12x RAM Dual Layer Writer Black - Bare Drive £19.45

Corsair (VS1GB400C3) 1024MB, DDR400 / PC3200, non-ECC, 184 DIMM, unbuffered, CL3, 64Mx8 DRAMs, Lifetime Warranty £58.26

ECS RD480-A939 Socket 939 Crossfire RD480 PCI-E x 2 DDR400 8channel audio ATX £52.07

Budget = £450 - 500

Thanks

Andy

semi-pro waster · 6 Aug 2006 at 22:38

Welcome to the forums, this option is just a shade over your budget but I think every component offers more performance or at least more potential than the X2 route you had. I'd prefer to go with 2gb Ram but there is no chance given the budget. Do you already have the case/PSU etc?

GX-044-CO Connect3D ATI Radeon X1800 XT 256MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-044-CO)
£126.95 £126.95
CP-135-IN Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - OEM (CP-135-IN)
£114.95 £114.95
MB-003-AK Asrock ConroeXFire-eSATA2 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-003-AK)
£53.95 £53.95
CD-035-NE NEC ND3550 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-035-NE)
£19.95 £19.95
HD-079-SE Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB ST3250620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-079-SE)
£52.55 £52.55
MY-030-GL GeIL 1GB (2x512MB) PC5300 667MHz Value DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX21GB5300DC) (MY-030-GL)
£49.95 £49.95
HS-017-AR Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775) (HS-017-AR)
£14.95 £14.95
Subtotal £433.25
VAT £75.82
Total £509.07

UKTopGun · 6 Aug 2006 at 22:48

montana and me :D said:
PowerColor X1800GTO 256mb GDDR3 256bit AVIVO Dual DVI PCI-E £111.69

I'd change this to an X1800XT - Well worth the extra money

Western Digital WD2500KS Caviar SE 250GB 7200RPM SATA2/300 16MB Cache- OEM £45.95

I'd change this to a Barrucuda .10

AMD Athlon 64 (ADA4200BVBOX) X2 4200+ socket 939 Dual Core 2.2ghz 512kb and 512kb Cache £107.11

I'd change this to an E6300 or X2 3800+ (4200 isnt worth it plus I'd go AM2)

LG GSA-H10NBAL 16x16DVD±RW 12x RAM Dual Layer Writer Black - Bare Drive £19.45

I'd change this to an ND3550.

Corsair (VS1GB400C3) 1024MB, DDR400 / PC3200, non-ECC, 184 DIMM, unbuffered, CL3, 64Mx8 DRAMs, Lifetime Warranty £58.26

I would change this to Geil 1GB if Conroe OR G.Skill 2GB if AMD.

ECS RD480-A939 Socket 939 Crossfire RD480 PCI-E x 2 DDR400 8channel audio ATX £52.07

Asrock or Intel maybe.

montana · 6 Aug 2006 at 23:22

Great advise thanks, i will look in to it tomorrow after work and post my revised spec, keep the comments coming it really is a big help.

Thanks

Andy

Gaverick · 6 Aug 2006 at 23:42

if you do go the X2 route get the 4400+ instead of the 4200+, the extra cache helps.

UKTopGun · 7 Aug 2006 at 10:52

Gaverick said:
if you do go the X2 route get the 4400+ instead of the 4200+, the extra cache helps.

If he is going to get a X2 4400 (if he can budget it) he may as well get Conroe instead.

I'd still say hes better off getting an X2 3800+ over X2 4200+ then use the money he saves on that to get an X1800XT.